Average Student Loan Debt in America: 2017 Facts & Figures

Our team of analysts at ValuePenguin decided to dive into the data behind how much people across the country owed on their student loans. We discovered that the average outstanding balance of borrowers is currently $26,700 (New York Fed) while the median student loan debt amount is $14,400.

American Student Loan Debt Statistics & Key Findings

Between 2004 and 2014, the US saw an almost 90% increase in the number of student loan borrowers, in addition to a nearly 80% uptick in average balance size

The number of current student loan borrowers is about 9 million, down from its 2012 peak of 12 million.

Half of student loan borrowers are under 25 years of age

Average Student Loan Debt in The United States

The mean dollar amount of outstanding student loans per person in America is $26,700 according to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel. This number is the most current data point available and was sourced in Q4 of 2015.

In aggregate terms, the total student loan debt outstanding in the country was $346 billion in 2004, and has ballooned to $1.23 trillion as of late 2015. This represents a more than 250% increase in total student loan debt in just over 10 years.

The figures in the chart below are in billions:

Year

Total Balance

% Increase Since 2004

2004

$346

-

2005

392

13%

2006

479

38%

2007

541

56%

2008

633

83%

2009

714

106%

2010

803

132%

2011

865

150%

2012

959

177%

2013

1,069

209%

2014

1,154

233%

2015

1,231

256%

Throughout the course of our research and analysis on student loan debt, we noticed several interesting differences when looking at data across varying demographics. Below we’ll explore these disparities and show you how the average student loan debt fluctuates amongst borrowers.

Average Student Loan Debt by State

The average student loan debt varies widely across states. Data from The Institute for College Access & Success suggests that the average borrower from New Hampshire has $36,101 worth of student loan debt that still needs to be paid. This is the highest in the country. New Hampshire is followed by Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island, as having the most student loan indebted citizens in the USA. Conversely, former students that reside in Utah and borrowed for school only have $18,873 left to payoff on their student loans – only half of the burden that those in New Hampshire are looking at. Rounding out the Top 5 states with the least indebted former students are New Mexico, California, Wyoming and Florida.

The table below shows the average student loan debt by state with their corresponding ranking. Additionally, we’re including the percentage of graduates in each state that have outstanding student loan debt.

Rank

State

% with Debt

Average Debt

1

New Hampshire

76%

$36,101

2

Pennsylvania

71%

$34,798

3

Connecticut

64%

$34,773

4

Delaware

65%

$33,849

5

Rhode Island

64%

$32,920

6

Minnesota

70%

$31,526

7

Massachusetts

66%

$31,466

8

District Of Columbia

55%

$31,452

9

South Carolina

60%

$30,564

10

Ohio

66%

$30,239

11

New Jersey

66%

$30,104

12

Michigan

63%

$30,045

13

Mississippi

62%

$29,942

14

Maine

63%

$29,644

15

Iowa

66%

$29,547

16

Wisconsin

70%

$29,460

17

South Dakota

73%

$29,364

18

New York

59%

$29,320

19

Illinois

66%

$29,305

20

Alabama

52%

$29,153

21

Indiana

61%

$29,022

22

Vermont

62%

$28,283

23

Kansas

63%

$28,008

24

Georgia

61%

$27,754

25

Virginia

59%

$27,717

26

West Virginia

68%

$27,713

27

Oregon

63%

$27,697

28

Maryland

56%

$27,672

29

Idaho

71%

$27,639

30

Missouri

61%

$27,480

31

Texas

56%

$27,324

32

Kentucky

64%

$27,225

33

Louisiana

51%

$26,865

34

Montana

60%

$26,280

35

Nebraska

60%

$26,235

36

Alaska

55%

$26,171

37

Tennessee

60%

$26,083

38

Arkansas

57%

$26,082

39

Colorado

56%

$25,840

40

North Carolina

61%

$25,645

41

Oklahoma

52%

$24,849

42

Washington

57%

$24,600

43

Arizona

56%

$23,780

44

Nevada

47%

$23,462

45

Hawaii

50%

$23,456

46

Florida

53%

$23,379

47

Wyoming

46%

$22,683

48

California

54%

$22,191

49

New Mexico

58%

$20,193

50

Utah

41%

$18,873

Average Student Loan Debt by Age Group

Looking at the age group breakdowns from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, there are more borrowers under 30 years of age than there are in any other age bucket. Interestingly though from a percentage growth standpoint, the number of borrowers under 30 has not increased as much over the last 10 years as 30, 40, 50, and 60+ year olds have.

The second way to look at student loan debt by age group is to peek into how loan balances have grown and where they currently stand. Since 2004, student loan balances across all age groups have increased on average by 256%. The most drastic percentage increase was seen by those over 60 years of age, a whopping 1,000% - from $6 to $67 billion. However, the majority of outstanding student loan balances are held by borrowers who are in their 20s or 30s. These age groups account for almost 65% of all student loan debt. Again, figures in our table are in billions.

Year

under 30

30-39

40-49

50-59

60+

2004

$146

$114

$49

$31

$6

2005

$161

$129

$56

$38

$8

2006

$194

$154

$69

$48

$13

2007

$217

$171

$82

$55

$16

2008

$248

$202

$96

$67

$20

2009

$273

$229

$109

$78

$25

2010

$299

$257

$127

$91

$29

2011

$312

$281

$140

$97

$35

2012

$320

$320

$163

$113

$43

2013

$356

$354

$184

$126

$49

2014

$369

$383

$208

$136

$58

2015

$376

$408

$230

$150

$67

Average Student Loan Debt by Gender and Race

While much has been written about student loan debt payments making up a larger portion of womens' paychecks, our chart below will also look at how much these student loan payments are eating into minorities take home pay, too. This is calculated by taking a person's total student loan debt and dividing it by their annual income one year post-graduation. On average, student debt balances of African Americans are the largest percentage of income, while Asian Americans enjoy the lowest percentage.

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